Ukrainian Sailor Who Told Russian Warship To Go F**k Itself Given Hero’s Welcome

Roman Hrybov, the Ukrainian sailor whose response to a Russian warship rapidly grew to become a logo of the bloody battle, has returned residence and been awarded a medal for his service, the Ukrainian Protection Ministry stated Tuesday.

Hrybov was a part of a gaggle of border guards stationed on Snake Island off the nation’s southwestern coast that refused to give up to approaching Russian forces on the primary day of the invasion in late February.

“Russian warship, go fuck your self,” Hrybov could possibly be heard flatly telling the Russians in audio of the interplay launched by the Ukrainian navy.

On the time, Ukrainian officers believed that the warship had bombed the sailors, killing all 19 of them, however the nation’s navy later stated that the group had been taken captive.

Supporters of Ukrainian democracy swiftly turned Hrybov’s phrase into an anti-war rallying cry, spreading it on protest indicators, stickers and T-shirts.

The Snake Island garrison was launched final week as a part of a prisoner trade between Ukraine and Russia.

In video of the transient ceremony posted to YouTube, Hrybov is seen shaking palms with Ihor Taburets, the governor of Cherkasy ― the province in central Ukraine that Hrybov calls residence ― and receiving an award for his service to the area.

“I need to say an enormous thanks to the Ukrainian individuals for such assist,” Hrybov says, in response to a translation from Enterprise Insider. “We really feel this assist very a lot. It evokes us. The power, the justice are on our facet.”

Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian postal service, held a design contest and launched a stamp two weeks in the past commemorating the defiant second in Russia’s monthlong warfare.